WEEK OF GEEK SERIES: I AM LEGEND: PART III

The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Directed by Ubaldo Ragona
Written by William Leicester, Richard Matheson, Furio Monetti, Ubaldo Ragona
Starring Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Raho, Christi Courtland

After a mysterious plague decimates the entire planet and wipes out the entire human race, Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) literally believes he is the last man on Earth. But he is certainly not alone, for the plague has turned all those who are infected into mindless zombie-like vampires who sleep during the day and at night call for Robert’s blood. During the day, Robert kills as many of the vampires as he can with homemade stakes and collects the goods he needs to survive. By night, he barricades himself into his home in order to see the next sunrise. But while out on his daily errands one day, he comes across vampires that have been killed by someone other than himself, and more importantly, comes across a rather mysterious woman that is able to walk in the sun! Cautiously, Robert brings the woman back to his house, not sure of just where this newfound revelation of information will lead.

Based on the 1954 novel I Am Legend, author Richard Matheson‘s story of isolation and survival horror is given a 1960’s b-movie horror makeover and throws the reigning champion of such films, Vincent Price, into the leading role. If you have not yet read Matheson’s story, I urge you to read it post-haste. It is one of finest horror stories to come out in the past century, and with its chronicled inspiration on the likes of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, it is a must-read piece of literature.

WEEK OF GEEK SERIES: I AM LEGEND: PART II

I Am Legend
Written by Richard Matheson
Tor Books

Robert Neville is the last man on Earth, but he is far from the last living being. It has been several years since an unknown plague covered the Earth and seemingly wiped out every human, save for Robert. But those humans that died did not stay dead, and have now returned to life as vampires, thirsting for human blood. For Robert’s blood. By day, Robert goes through a strict routine to fortify his home with mirrors, garlic, and nailed-up boards, and hand making the endless amount of stakes needed for his other daily routine — vampire slaying. By night, Robert sits in his home, listening to classical music and drinking himself to sleep while vampires stumble around and call for him to come out.

Fed up by not knowing what caused the plague, and still haunted by the death of his family, Robert finally decides to begin researching what may have been the origin. Though Robert is not a scientific man, he has all the time in the world to become one. He adds a trip to the library to his daily routine, where he finds books on viruses, bacteria, and basic scientific theory. Through this new process of theorizing and study, Robert finds a renewal in his life, and as he comes close to a theory that may stick under securitization, he stumbles across the biggest discovery of all — he may not be the last human alive after all!

Written by Richard Matheson in 1954, I Am Legend has become a legend of it own for the influence it has had on literature and cinema over the past fifty years. Stephen King and Brian Lumley have repeatedly sourced Matheson as inspiration. Ray Bradbury, Fangoria, and Psycho author Robert Bloch shower him with praise. Matheson’s story has been brought to the screen in 1964 as The Last Man On Earth (which in turn influenced the original Night Of The Living Dead), in 1971 as The Omega Man, and now in 2007 as I Am Legend.

Nirvana: Unplugged In New York
Geffen Records
2007
Available now

It is with a tinge of irony that a band who took The Pixies’ loud-quiet-loud approach to songwriting into the stratosphere found one of their finest career moments on a candle-lit stage with acoustic instruments and backed by a cello. Performed in front of a live studio audience on November 18, 1993, and broadcast on MTV a month later, Nirvana Unplugged In New York is arguably the best episode in the station’s scattered series and as one of the last “officially” recorded releases in Nirvana‘s catalog, a somber reminder of the range and influence the noisy Seattle band had.

While the broadcast was released on CD posthumously at the tail end of 1994, there has never been an official release of the episode. That is, until now. Almost fourteen years to the day of the original recording, Geffen Records is finally giving the fans what they need, and boy have they done it right! It is no secret that what fans saw on television was about two-thirds of the full recording, with two songs truncated from the set list and almost all of the down time between songs removed. Even the CD release, which included the missing songs “Something In The Way” and the third song that Nirvana played with The Meat Puppets “Oh Me,” is still missing almost thirteen minutes of the chatter and tuning in between the songs.

After watching Midnight Eagle, I was struck by the strong stance against nuclear weapons and its themes dealing with responsibility. Director Izuru Narushima has kindly taken some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions in regards to his movie.

GoD: Midnight Eagle has a strong anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons message. Are the heightened concerns about nuclear arms development in recent years something that drew you to this project?

Izuru Narushima: Japan is the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, and we have experienced this tragedy twice. A strong wish for avoiding a third tragedy is a very big issue, but at the same time, it is a very intimate mental issue. I was interested in depicting how nuclear weapons could threaten one man’s life in a modern day setting, not a period drama set in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. It was not because of heightened concerns that drove me to create this film. I thought it was a theme that should be worked on as a Japanese film by somebody.

GoD: While Japan has been mostly known for its horror and yakuza movies in recent years, Midnight Eagle is a military drama. Are you hoping to expand the international perception of Japanese cinema with your film?

IN: I wish that this film will become a new first step in Japanese films.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
The Fourth Year – 2002-2003 Season
Starring Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Ice-T
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
On-sale Dec. 4, 2007

There really is nothing quite like Law & Order. The show has been running solid for almost two decades, with numerous spin-offs, countless awards and nominations, and a ravenously devoted fan base. For those fans, there is nothing much better than discovering a Law & Order marathon being broadcast on any of the numerous channels that have the show in syndication. But what if there is no marathon to be had, and you’ve just got to get your fix? Well, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has you covered with their newest DVD release of the 2002-2003 season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – The Fourth Year.

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. [insert your own chung-chung sound here]

Special Victims Unit is perhaps the most controversial and downbeat series under the L&O umbrella. There is no room for fun and games or light quirky crimes when you are dealing with rape, murder, child abuse, and various hot button issues. But because of the overall tones and topics that are the centerpieces of SVU, there is hardly an episode that is not intense, emotional, and powerful, and you’ll be more hard pressed to find an episode that you will not have an instinctive and gut reaction.